GE workers approve pay freeze - San Francisco Business Times:

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Fairfield, Conn.-based GE (NYSE: GE) is tryinb to trim expenses atAppliancee Park, which lost $72 million in 2008. Jerry president of , said nearly 70 percent of the 1,638 unionh workers voted in favor of the Under the terms ofthe agreement, GE will freeze pay for uniomn workers until June 2011. And newly hirexd skilled-trades professionals would startat $23 per hour and advance to $25 per hour over a two-year period. A competitiv e wage agreement for hourly production worker calls for new hires to startat $13 per hour and receivde annual wage increases after their current contractt expires in 2011.
The rates for skilled and production worker s are lower than they wouldd have been withoutthe agreement, Carney Also under the agreement, GE will not force productiojn workers to work less than full, five-day work with the exception of holiday periodss or other special days, Carne said. “That is important because GE already has goneto eight-hour work weeks at some of its lightinh plants, and that couled have been the case here if we didn’y vote ‘yes,’ ” Carney said. In GE will add 100 positions and bring anew low-cosgt dishwasher line to Appliance Park by Dec. 31.
All new jobs at Applianc e Park, except for warehouse positions, woulde be bid on by seniority, according to a bulletib issued last week bythe union. GE will continuew to make 18 cubic-foot top-mounf refrigerators, home dishwashers and 27-inch top-load washing machines at Appliance Park through at leastJune 17, unless the company decides to exit the product “This is important because now we have a future at Appliance Park,” Carney said Thursdah evening. Kim Freeman, director of public relationsfor GE’s Consumer and Industrial called the union’s vote “gratifying.
” “When given the facts, our employees have demonstrated time and againb that they understand our business realities and want to be part of a team that will make the necessary changes to win in this globap marketplace,” Freeman said in an e-mail. “We are gratefup to all of our employees and the union leadership for their willingness to work together to make this asuccessfupl business.” More jobs coming? One stipulation of the agreemen t is that the company and the union will work togethef to explore opportunities for making energy-efficienrt appliances at the plant.
The first step could come when the and the Louisvillde Metro Council are expectex to vote on approving incentives to GE to facilitat the development of a new product platform atAppliancr Park. GE officials have not disclosed what productg might be destined forAppliance Park. Business First reported Fridauy that the city is prepared to offer to creatw a tax increment financing district and the state is prepared to offer GE as muchas $2.5 millionb over 10 years to launch a product line that woulr create as many as 400 jobs at Applianced Park. “Now there is the opportunith to replace outdated equipment witha new, high-tecnh product line,” Carney said.
“Thia means a lot to